Harman's road to smart cockpit implementation

Harman is an automotive supplier that we have been following for a long time. In the automotive field, they started with the car audio business. With the development trend of automotive intelligence, they have also expanded their business to all aspects related to smart cockpits. In March 2017, they were wholly acquired by Samsung Electronics.

At the 2019 Shanghai Auto Show, Harman held a press conference as usual and announced a series of latest cooperation projects.

First, Harman's car audio business achieved results in its core business: Harman's car audio sales are growing three times faster than the Chinese market, which grew 5% over the same period. Harman's car audio business sales increased by more than $300 million.

And from the many collaborations reached with vehicle manufacturers this time, we can also see into which areas Harman’s business has expanded.

At the Shanghai Auto Show, Harman International announced a strategic partnership with Beijing New Energy to provide it with scalable smart cockpit solutions.

The first model to be launched will be the ARC FOX ECF model of ARCFOX, a high-end brand under BAIC New Energy.

Ideal is one of the most popular booths at the Shanghai Auto Show, and they have also reached a strategic partnership with Harman International. The two parties are currently cooperating in Ethernet and HMI interactive interfaces. In addition, Harman and Ideal also plan to conduct in-depth discussions in big data analysis, vehicle information security, overseas R&D center deployment, and Internet of Vehicles services.

In Ideal ONE, Ideal's first mass-produced car, the Ethernet solution is provided by Harman.

Another cooperation was reached with BMW. At the Shanghai Auto Show, Harman announced that it would provide BMW with a new generation of infotainment systems and further assist in the development of its in-vehicle technology and entertainment systems.

The cooperation between Harman and BMW actually started in the 1980s. In the NBT Evo infotainment system currently used by BMW, Harman is involved in more than 40 consumer-oriented components in the system, including online entertainment, POI search, Bluetooth audio streaming and gesture control.

Harman + Great Wall Motors: Infotainment systems, automotive cybersecurity, OTA solutions

Great Wall is an important vehicle manufacturer customer of Harman International. At the Shanghai Auto Show, WEY exhibited the WEY VV6 equipped with Harman technology, including the new generation of infotainment system, network security and OTA solutions.

The infotainment system provided by Harman includes the following features:

-Intelligent safety protection: The vehicle will be equipped with ADAS driver assistance system, including forward collision detection, lane assist system and high-definition 360-degree surround view to clearly monitor the blind spots around the vehicle.

-Natural Voice Interaction: Supports cloud-based and local voice assistants, with more accurate recognition, making language communication more adaptable and accurate.

-Personalization: Identify the driver's identity through facial recognition and voice recognition to achieve personalized settings. It also supports driver fatigue monitoring and distraction monitoring, and gives relevant reminders.

-Support massive resources: Play local/online photos, music or videos on the car display screen through a DLNA-supported mobile phone or a third-party mobile app.

Generally speaking, automotive suppliers are "hiding" behind the vehicle manufacturers, and it is difficult for ordinary consumers to perceive their presence from the products. However, on the VV6, the Harman brand can be clearly seen. When the owner starts the VV6's infotainment system, he can see the words "Connected by HARMAN" on the screen.

At a level that users cannot perceive, Harman's automotive cybersecurity business unit has also begun to provide security consulting services to Great Wall since January 2019.

OTA is also an important direction of cooperation between Harman and Great Wall. The cooperation between the two parties in this regard began in 2017. This year, the cooperation on OTA has been expanded to the new generation of smart cockpit projects and is applicable to all car models. The updated technology allows new cars to remotely upgrade all on-board software, including firmware, applications, settings, configurations and maps, as well as TCU and ECU.

Harman's business in the field of smart cockpits is basically reflected in the cooperation projects with Great Wall Motors. Therefore, you can basically see the full picture of Harman's smart cockpit solutions on Great Wall's new cars.

Therefore, we should stop looking at Harman International from the old perspective of a "car audio supplier". Although the trend of automotive intelligence has put forward higher strategic requirements and technical challenges for them, for Harman, which has already accumulated many practical projects, the "smart cockpit" is undoubtedly a very attractive incremental market.